Wigan Athletic 'will stay up', predicts old-boy

Tom James has tipped Wigan Athletic to avoid the drop from League One - despite opting to drop a division with Salford City.
Tom JamesTom James
Tom James

The 24-year-old was one of Latics' best players up to January, having joined on loan from Hibernian last summer.

But when his initial deal expired, and Latics tried to extend it for the rest of the campaign, both James and Hibs thought the offer from Salford was more to their liking.

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"There were discussions about staying at Wigan," James revealed.

"I don't really think going back to Hibs was an option for me, just in terms of game-time.

"I felt like I needed to stay out on loan in order to get games, and it was a tough decision for me to leave Wigan.

"I really enjoyed my time there, but Salford - and the way they're looking to go - was something that interested me."

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James was one of numerous arrivals last summer, at a time when the vast majority of the existing squad were being moved on to slash costs and generate much-needed income.

However, the Welsh-born utility man says it was still a very enjoyable time in his career.

"I really enjoyed my time with Wigan," he acknowledged. "Obviously the stuff going on behind the scenes, which the players and staff had gone through, wasn't nice to see.

"But you wouldn't have been able to tell that in the changing room, at the training ground and on the pitch.

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"It was always so positive around the place, and I think that's the only way to approach that kind of thing really.

"No player or coach can control the kind of things that happened at the end of last season and through this season.

"That's all the kind of stuff people a lot higher up have to deal with.

"Obviously it was very tough, being near the bottom of the league and having to scrap for results.

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"But I also think maybe that's what I needed, to go somewhere and have a tough six months, playing pretty much every minute and I really enjoyed my time there.

"I really hope they can pull it off, stay in the league and that the takeover goes through as soon as possible.

"And I definitely think they have it in them to stay up, I think they'll be fine this year.

"There's a lot of good players there, and I was so impressed with the younger boys who came into the side.

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"It's the first time most of them had played first-team football, at a club such as big as Wigan, and I was impressed with the way they took the challenge in their stride.

"They're only a couple of points adrift of safety, and if they can get a little run together that would see them climb closer to where they want to be."

James also sees a fruitful long-term future for Latics - because of the wealth of talent continuing to emerge from the club's Academy.

"I think there's a few of the lads there with a big future in the game," he told BBC Radio Manchester. "And it's not just the quality they have, but also the attitudes they have, they're all very honest.

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"Sometimes at clubs you'll have a youngster who thinks maybe they're better than they are, and they'll walk around the place like they own it.

"But there's none of that at Wigan, and that's probably down to the coaches there, something they've had instilled from a young age.

"And hats off to them, because there's a very good group of youngsters coming through that will stand them in good stead for years to come."

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